Shoe-heel cushion.



which the followin einen.

JOSEPH PIETZUCH, 0F CINCINNATI, OHIO.

SHOE-HEEL CUSHION.

. Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 23, 1918.

Application led March 7, 1917. Serial No. 153,050.

human foot in walking and remedying what is ,generally known as flat foot resulting' from thefallin'goi? the inner or outer longitudinal arch ,or the transverse arch ofv the foot, by equalizing the strains upon the foot, to relieve those portions of the foot structure which are overtaxed and cause other portions to assume their' proper proportion of the weight, said meansv bein'g of such a'A l simple and inexpensive character as to permit of the general use-thereof and permit of ap lication without the exercise of special s 'll to the ordinary walking shoe.

Further objects and advantages of the in- `'vention will appear in the following description of a preferred embodiment, it being understood that changes in the form,

proportion andgminor .details may be 'resorted to withinv the scope of the' appended claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the drawings,

"-flfigure 1 illustrates one embodiment of thein-vention' applied in the operative position'to a shoe.

, Figs.'2 and 3 are plan views of a heel cushion embodying the invention and where` in varying ratios of areas of different coeiiicients ofelasticity are illustrated.

Fig. 4 is atransverse sectional view of a cushion.

' v 'It isa well known fact'that many if not :all people throw more or less weight or stress in walking'either to the inside or the outside of the foot, as illustrated by the uneven 'wearin of the heels and also the soles of fshoes, t ereby indicating that an in'- creasedstrain is thrown upon one side or the other,'and this indicates either a constiltt-ional weakness ofthe inside or the outside arch'of the. foot, or aV condition which `will lead to the breaking down of the longi- 1 tndinal arches or` of the transverse arch or both, resulting in a complaint which is ordinarly termed hat foot which destroys the elasticity or springinessofthe gait, notI to speak of more or less serlous'personal inconvenience or distress.

,The use of resilient or elastic heels orheel cushions to relieve the shock or jar in walking is well known but owing to the uniformity of elasticity throughout the surface of the heel or cushion, the strains due to the causes above noted are not relieved,and the wear on the heel progresses unevenly or is accentuated more at one side than the other and therefore the weaker archof the foot is not fortified, but on the other hand is used more vor less at the expense of the stronger arch.

To correct this tendency, it is proposed to provide a composite heel or heel cushion such as that illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawing hereto attached, wherein one section or membenofthe area, as mdlcated at 10, isof a higher coeiiicient of elasticity'- "or, resiliency than the other section 11. For example, one section or member may beef seventy-five per cent. resiliency, whereby the vsection of the lower coeiicient of elasticity offers more resistance to wear and hence tends to throw the weight of the body in walking toward the other portion' or section of the cushion which is of greaterela'sticity. Obviously the relative areas off-these sections may be varied to suit the conditions or the seriousnessv of the inequality' of wear under nprmal conditions, either Onehal of the entlre area being of the lower coeiiicient of elasticity, as shown inFig. 3, or approximately two-thirds thereof being ofeither the higher 0r the lower coeflicient off elasticity, as sugges-ted in Fig. .2. f

Preferably'the cushion is constructed as a composite article,so that it may be applied to the heel of the shoe as a unit and in .this event the selection of' the proper cushion to suit a partieularlease or a particular shoe may be determined bythedealer or shoemaker upon inspection of the condition -of the shoe previously worn by the user. 4

Rubber of different degrees of resiliencyv as hard rubber and soft rubber may be employed in the construction of. cushions in 'accordance with the invention, and it is contended in behalf thereof :that-the breaking down or falling 'of the foot arches may be prevented .or corrected by the use thereof` when properly applied in view of the normal osition ofthe foot of the patient, thc 4weigiit being thrown either one way or the other, as circumstances may requirey to equalize-lthepressure. and.v the strains upon the-- foot arches."= f`f l,

,'Whatfcaim isz- .-g f

' L A nubbe shoe heel cushion, formed of two seoti'ons lying to {he-right sind the oth the and made integral, one section 'left side of the heel and both approxif :Y mately longitudinaliy disposed to form the tread `@rea 'of the 'h gre the

eel, one section being of aber resiliency .olheisectiom y 'A shoe heel cushion formed of sections .definite and diferent er -sect'onto and more yieldable than j and made integral, each section having 'a degree of resiliency said sections so disposed in the treadarea o l5 the' heel thateech section'will partly lie at the border of' said heel.

` This specification signed and witnessed this day of March, A. D. 1917. Y

` Jos. vPIETZUGH. Witnesses: v

ALVINJ. VQGT, GEO. R. Simoni. 

